Apparatus for producing gas



JJU. McDONALD APPARATUS FOR PRoDUc'ING GAS Filed July 9, 1937 Aug. s, 1939.

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Patented Auge." 8,4 193e UNITED sTATes alssrsz PATENT oFFlCE APPARATUS Fon Pnonncmc. clAsA v Jaim U. McDonald, clinton, Mo. Y Application July 9, 41937, -Serial No.v152,726

` z'claims.l (ci. 4x4-1s) This invention relates to an apparatus for producing gas from various materials as desired 4such as from any kind of carbonaceous material, solid or liquid, Iincluding vegetable and l animal matter, including any ofthe various types of coals, peat, saw-mill refuse, wood, garbage, andoi1.`

It is a primaryobject of .this invention to provide, an apparatus for .the production of a l clean, xed and permanent gas to have a high caloric value, in a-steady, rapid, and contin` vide apparatus whichwill heat the gas producing material ln such a manner that the steam and gases produced are retained and-forced down v through a bedof incandescent carbon so as to crack the volatileconstltuents to a fixed perma- I' 4 nent gas. 'A s'tili further important object of the invention is to remove the ash residue from the generating chamber and also to remove the fly-v l'ash from the gas and then washy and condensev thevgas without causing a precipitation of some of the constituents thereof.

Reference is made to 4my co-pending process '50 application, serial Number 152,725,215 med in the United States Patent Oilice July 9, '1937.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those versedin the art in the. following description of one particular form of the invention which is morel or less diagrammatically illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing in whichl Fig. 1 is a diagram in side elevationl and partial section -of the apparatus embodying the invention, and l Fig. A2, a transverse horizontal section on the line 2,-2 through the generator in Fig. 1.

Like characters of reference indicate like parts' in the two views in the drawing.

A generator generally designated by th/e\nu.

` meral Ill is formed to have a lower. inverted frusto-conical'section II, the outer wall of which may be made 0f steel and vlinedsufliciently with a suitable refractory wail I2. Onthe upper end v of this lower' section IIv is fitted insa gas tight manner a cylindrical mid section I3 likewise lined with a refractory material; On theupper end of the 'mid section I3 is fitted in gastight relation the conical section I4 which carries a head I5 on its upper end.

This head I5 has a side entering pipel I6 which is provided to conduct the fuel into the generator by any suitable means such as by the screw conveyor I'I as herein indicated. The head I5 is i further provided with a 'cap or valve I8 of the 5 quick-detachable nature,` ordinarily held in a vclosed sealed position by means of the screw shaft I9 carried through the bar 20" supported vabove the head I5`. In order to prevent loss of gas from the generator III on admitting fuel through the 10 pipe I6, any suitable means for feeding the fuel without escape of gas may be employed. such as by employing a fuel hopper` 20 through the a lower portionof which passes the screw conveyor I1, thedrive shaft 2| of the conveyorbeing l5 carried through a suitable packing gland 22- exterhally of the hopper. The fuel hopper may be loaded with the desired fuel through its topwhlch is normally closed by the q'ulckly detachable valve ,or cover 'plate 23. 'The fuel hoppermay be made 20 of such depth and capacity as will permit a sufiicient amount of fuel being carried therein as will prevent any material escape of gas upwardly therethrough when additional fuel is beingadded to the hopper. 25

1 The lower end of the generator section II opens -into a receiving chamber 2l-which'is here shown as having a horizontally disposed floor 25 through 'i which verticauy'extends a. shaft 2s in gas tight manner. It is understood that the chamber 24 30 is'tted to the open end of the generator-sec` tion I I in a gas tight manner.

Placed centrally within the lower end of the generatorsection II is a conical grate 21 which.

is provided with 'slots 28 therearound through .35` 'which vthe residue ash may fall. The larger particles of the residue which may not pass through these slot openings 28 may' travel down the inclined face of the grate 21 t be engaged by lower portion of thegrate so that as the grate 21 may be revolved, these larger particles will be groundl up or at'least reduced in' size-suiciently as will permit them to fall through the annularopening left around. the`1ower end of the grate and the throat or opening end of the generating section II. In order toresist wear under thisA grindlngaction the throat of the sectlon- II is'- preferably provided with a metal ring 3l, here' shownas extending in the upper portion of the 50 chamber 24. vThe shaft '2B may be revolved in anysuitable manner such -as through a drive shaft 3l, a'worm 32 and a worm wheel 33 mounted on the shaft 26..

` zone,` all the oxygen is used upin that zone and This pipe 34, in the form herein shown, is provided with a surrounding jacket through which' water may be circulated for the purpose of keeping the pipe 34 cooled to within working limits and to prevent distortion thereof by undue heating. In the form herein shown, the jacket 35 is provided with a water inlet connection 36 and a water discharge pipe 31.

The pipe 34 is provided with a central upwardly directed discharge jet or nozzle 38 opening into the generator within the mid section I3. The pipe 34 is provided with suitable fittings on its outer ends for the selective admission of air, oil, or steam. y

In placing the generator in operation, fu'el isA admitted to the generator and ignited in any suitable manner such as by dropping incandescent coals therein. -Air may be initially supplied through the upper pipe :9 in the head l5 .and

the lowe1 ports 40 in the lower section I I, it being understood that the pipe 39 and the ports 4U are normally closed after the initial starting of the operation. Fuel is added to the generator to completely fill it up tothe head I5 and combustion is maintained after being initiatedby air escaping through the jet 38 into the central portion of the fuel within the mid section I3. The combustion zone then extends from slightly above the grate 21 to a short distance above the jet 38 within the mid'section I3 with the raw fuel thereabove and being heated thereby.

Thus, by burning part 'of the fuel, the upper portion is initially heated to drive out iirst the more voatile portionswhich set up a slight pres'- sure tending to drive the gas produced downwardly and out through the lower throat ofthe generator to the chamber 24'. Tars and other liquids driven olf by the heat pass downwardly through,

the incandescent zone and are thereby. converted into a xed' and permanent gas. Also by admittlngthe air centrally into the combustion hence the gas is not subject to oxidation or burning by that air. The residue as above indicated is in the form of an ash which likewise is dropped into the chamber 24.

24 in the grate and thereby carries out the accumulation of nne dust.. This residue is removed*l large to receive and retain the ash. over a rather longperiod of operation beforethe receptacle has to be cleaned. The ash may be.4 removed through the lower valve 44'. The incoming residue is directed toward the bottom of thereceptacle by the s'lo'pe ofthe pipe 42. Gas is conducted from the receptacle 44 by the pipe 44 leading from near the top of the receptacle 43 into the lower end of the gas washer. This gas entering the washerv 4I will convey with it some :ily-ash. This material is removed from the gas in the washer by water discharged from the pipe 48 through a central hole 41 provided in the upper cover 4l of the washer. l f

Within the washer 45 is a lower inverted'cone 49 secured `byits upper end in substantially gas tight relation aroundthe inner side of thewall of the washer. The lower end or apex of the The pressure of the gas in the generator carries the gas through the slots f cone 48 is provided with an opening through which the' gas coming from the pipe 44 may escape upwardly. Above the invertedl cone 43 is mounted down in a continuous sheet over the entire surface of the cone 5B to dischar'ge'throughthe annular opening about its base into the cone 49 to ilow in a more or less continuous sheet thereover and discharge from the lower opening into the bottom of the washer. Thus, it is to be seen that the water is flowing downwardly against the upwardly rising gas over the same path that the gas must travel to escape.

The discharge water from the washer ows through the pipe 5I into the trap 52 and out the discharge 53. As indicated by the drawing, the discharge 53 is provided at a sulclent elevation above the lower end of the entering pipe 5I to form a seal so as to prevent the escape `of gas.

From the washer 45, the gas ilows through the opening 41 into a receiving chamber 54 from l which the gas is conducted ,through the pipe 55 ,formed-to have the tubes 54 surrounded by water -which enters'fr'om a water inlet pipe to ilow upwardly aroundthe tubes 5I and then disj charge through thel `pipe 43 into the washer.

Since ,the gas coming from -the gener tor I4 is carrying -volatile matter that might o erwise be condensed bysudden. chillingfthe waterA entering the washer 45 is pre-heated by being initially carried through the -condenser as above indicated so that the temperature of the gas is not suddenly reduced by being brought into contact with cool water. By conducting the gas through the washer and the condenser with the water ilowas indicated, there is no precipitation produced and the gas thereby retains all offits constituents in the gasified state although eventually reduced in temperatuie.v I It is thus to be seen that the generator Il may be operated in a continuous manner without interruptions for the admission of fuel. It is aiaV to b e seen that the travel of the volatile matter and gases produced is always downwardly through the incandescent fuel bed andl that the-incandescent zone is maintained" and limited by the transversely extending pipe 34 and its single central iet 38. This pipe further serves as a means for admitting steam and oil to secure the proper calorifc values. It is further to be noted that in 'the form herein shown and described, no water seals are' required. In further reference to the introduction of the air in the central part of the mid section I 3, this mode of introduction provides for the uniform combustion o f the' fuel through the central portion and prevents the heretofore occasioned diiliculty of by-passes being formed through the Vfuel -bed when the air was introduced from above or a vacuum applied at the base of the generator. n

While I have herein shown and described my invention in the one particular form, it is obdrops onto the pex of the cone 50 and thus flows viss vious that structural variations may be employed 75 v without departing from the spirit oi' the invention,

such as varying the position of the air discharge jet w38 vfrom the vertical center to any suitable I workable position intermediate the top and bottom of theg'enerator, and I therefore do not de,-

sire Vto be limited to thatprecise formH beyond .-the limitations as may be imposed by the following claims. i v

1. In agas producing apparatus, the` combination with a generator having a chamber with a combustion zone intermediate the top and bottom, means for admitting fuel into the top of thev genl erator, and lmeans for delivering residue ash and gas from the lower end of the 4 generator, of: a conduit extending transversely across theinterlor of the `generator in an upper part of said zone to l have the conduit' supported by opposite sides of the generator, through which conduit gas making iluids may beV selectively and simultaneously admitted centrally of said zone, said conduit having-- an upwardly vertically directedjlischarge opengenerator, and means `for delivering residue ash and gas 4from the lwer end of the generator, of a conduit extending transversely across the interior of the generator in an upper part of said zone to mltted centrally of said zone, said conduit having an upwardly jvertically directed discharge opening, said generatoriha'ving its upper fuel receiving portion 'frust-conically shaped andJts lowervcombustion zone inverted frusto-conically shaped, and

said conduit passing diametrically across the generator between' the twoconlcal portions to have said opening positioned axially of the generator.

A JOHN U'MCDONALD.

. have the conduit supported by opposite slides of v I thel'generator, through which conduit gas making' 104- uids may be selectively and simultaneously ad- 

